


Tea & Challenges

by FortySevens



Series: Accidental Puppy Acquisition [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: DameRey, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Modern AU, Romance, So Verrryyyyyyy Little Plot, Some Care Taking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 00:37:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13693215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FortySevens/pseuds/FortySevens
Summary: “You trying to boil yourself?” Poe mutters as he stands in the water behind her, runs his damp fingers through the hair piled at the top of her head as he waits for his body to adjust to the temperature. “I swear, you’re going to be red as a lobster by the time you get out of here.”“But I’m going to be a very cute lobster,” Rey chirps, reaches up and grabs at his fingers, tugs gently. “Come on, my back’s getting cold.”





	Tea & Challenges

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this yesterday and I wanted to get it posted in time for Valentine’s Day along with the last chapter of [ It Often Rhymes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13638270), but instead, I got a little absorbed by Olympic Figure skating (Savchenko and Massot? Are y’all kidding me??? THAT PERFORMANCE I CAN’T) and my kitchen sink making weird noises, so here we are, this morning. Close enough. 
> 
> I don’t know what this was, and I know even less how it ended up going the way it did. 
> 
> Seriously, this was supposed to be about Rey and Poe drinking tea and coffee, respectively, in the bath. 
> 
> Not that this is bad. This is awesome.
> 
> But I really don’t know how it happened.
> 
> Prompt of the chapter from [The Fake Redhead.com](https://thefakeredhead.com/tfrs-prompt-library/)
> 
> Number 194: 
> 
> "That's not funny." 
> 
> "I thought it was." 
> 
> "You don't count. You started laughing in the middle of a funeral because you started thinking of a meme you saw on Facebook."

With a weary sigh born from the day she’s had, Rey hangs her bathrobe on the hook next to the bathroom door, shimmies off her underwear and leaves the pair on the tiled floor below it, crosses over to the giant, claw-foot bathtub sitting below the massive window of the top-floor condo she and Poe have shared for the last year and a half.

 

After squirreling away her unexpected inheritance from Han Solo for _years_ , she made the choice to dip into those savings when she and Poe decided to move in together. When they were looking and stumbled upon this condo, this expansive bathroom—bigger than her first apartment after she graduated college, at the very least—and its massive bathtub in this show stopping bathroom was one of its primary selling points.

 

It’s already full of water, little wisps steaming off the top a clear indicator that it hasn’t been waiting for her for very long, and she smiles at Poe’s forethought when he took her text of ‘ _have had a DAY. bath tonight’_ to mean exactly this.

 

Tugging a hand through her hair, she twists it around and ties it up into a pile on the top of her head, but winces when lifting her arms as high as she does pulls at something in her lower back. It does _not_ bode well for her classes tomorrow.

 

She glances out the window and sees the snow falling in heavy, even sheets.

 

Maybe she’ll call out.

 

Shaking her head, because she really can’t afford to take the day, not with the three classes she has to teach and a very slim chance her former mentor, Jyn Erso, would be willing to come out of retirement, even for a day, Rey picks up one of the little pillar candles on the counter next to the sink. It looks like it exhausted itself through from the melted wax gathered up at the top, so she plucks a tissue out of the box next to the cup that holds their toothbrushes and swipes it before she tilts the candle to clear out the rest. Turning it over one of the taller candles, she waits for it to re-light before placing it back on the fancy glass plate Poe’s boss gave them as a housewarming gift, with the rest of the cluster that makes up the only light glowing through the small room.

 

She dips a toe into the water, and then the rest of her foot after testing the temperature, before she climbs all the way in. Hissing when the heat seeps into her sore lower back, she settles into the water and dips down until it reaches her neck and stays like that for a few minutes. Finally, she shifts up into a higher seat so she can rest her neck against the bath pillow hooked onto one end of the tub.

 

The heat of the water leaves a pleasant, tingling feeling on her skin, probably from it being just a shade too hot, but it’ll cool soon enough, especially with the tub’s proximity to the window and how the temperature is verging on the negatives outside, the skies as dark as they were even at high noon.

 

With her upbringing out in the deserts, she’s really not made for climates like this.

 

“It’s only three months,” she mutters as she traces a clump of snow that lands on the window with her eyes, and she watches it slide down to the sill before melding with the rest of powder that’s gathered there.

 

Distantly, Rey hears the sounds of Poe puttering around in the kitchen, the whistle of their electric tea kettle and the grinding whir of their—though, mostly Poe’s—Kuerig. She wrinkles her nose as the scent of coffee wafts through the condo, slides a little deeper into the waters so she smells more of the frothy bubbles Poe sprinkled in while the tub was filling instead.

 

Footsteps echo off the hardwood from down the hall, and then she hears Poe mutter something low to BB-8 before he shuts their bedroom door quick enough that the round little corgi can’t get in behind him. He yowls his disapproval at being banned from his favorite room in the house through the wood, and when she snorts, she accidentally gets a little water up her nose.

 

Squeezing the bridge of her nose until that tingling feeling goes away, she blinks a couple times around rolling her eyes as the yowl is followed by a low _thud_ , and then another, before BB-8 finally gives up to lord his dominion upon the other rooms he still has access to.

 

She grins up at Poe when he walks in, a cup of tea in one hand and coffee in the other.

 

“Decided to get a head start, did we?” He asks as he sets the drinks down on the little stool they keep next to the tub.

 

He tugs off his t-shirt, the glow of the candles reflecting off the definition of his chest, and Rey can’t help but stare as she shrugs a shoulder. Rey pulls one arm from the water, rests it on the rim of the tub and props her chin on it, “You know I can’t resist the lure of a hot bath after the day I had.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

Rey nods, and Poe comes over, carefully levers down to his knees next to the tub and reaches out, curls a hand over her shoulder and urges her to lean forward.

 

Bending her knees, Rey sinks her arm again and wraps both around her legs as Poe strokes a hand down the line of her spine, likely looking for bruises that haven’t quite formed yet, may not when all is said and her body settles down. She knows he wants to ask, but he doesn’t yet, just passes his hand a couple more times, and she feels his eyes intent on her face, watching her for any flickers of pain, which she doesn’t really have since, at this point, everything is just _sore_ , but not the worst she’s ever felt _._

 

With a sigh at the pressure of his palm against her skin, Rey rests her cheek on her knees so she can look at him, watch how the flickering candlelight throws shadows behind him, lights his hair where it’s getting curly up at the top. She lets go of her legs with one hand and brushes her wet knuckles over the curve of his cheek, her small smile growing when he turns his head to kiss her fingers, “Well?” She asks, scuttling forward a little more. “You coming in or what?”

 

“You sure you don’t want to stretch out?” He leans in and kisses the side of her head, where her hair is damp and curling a bit from the heat of the water. “I can be just fine right here,” he says, pats the fluffy rug laid out next to the tub.

 

Biting down on her smile, she shakes her head, scuttles further forward, “No, I want to sit with you.”

 

“Then who am I to deny my girl?”

 

The question is so obviously rhetorical, especially with the way he leans his chest over the tub and kisses her spine where it’s curved with how she’s wrapped around her knees, and then he brushes his mouth against the arch of her cheek before pushing off the rim of the tub to get back to his feet.

 

His years in the service as a fighter pilot have made him an expert at quick changes, and Poe’s out of his sweats and boxers in the span of about two quick blinks, and then he’s sliding in behind her, “You trying to boil yourself?” He mutters as he stands in the water behind her, runs his damp fingers through the hair piled at the top of her head as he waits for his body to adjust to the temperature. “I swear, you’re going to be red as a lobster by the time you get out of here.”

 

“But I’m going to be a very cute lobster,” she chirps, reaches up and grabs at his fingers, tugs gently. “Come on, my back’s getting cold.”

 

“Can’t have that,” he leans down, sets his palms on her shoulders and rubs his thumbs into either side of her neck before he drops both hands on either side of the tub for balance. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

 

Poe settles in behind her and stretches out—this tub is _really_ huge, and it’s _really_ awesome, especially when the bathroom at Rey’s last place was about the size of a glorified shoebox—and he pulls her into his chest, bends his knees and helps her settle back into the cradle of his hips.

 

Shifting a little until she’s comfortable, Rey lies back and rests her head back on his shoulder, sighs when he runs his hands up and down her arms, “How was your day?” She asks, voice quiet as they lie together in the flickering dark, more snow sliding down the window outside.

 

“It was by the book. Roughed out Leia’s schedule for the next week. Should be quiet, which she needs, all things considered.”

 

Rey nods in agreement, her nose brushing up against the side of his neck and the chain holding the necklace with his mother’s ring, “She deserves it,” she murmurs, kisses his throat. “Any trips?”

 

She can’t help but hold her breath every time the topic comes up, because if there’s one thing that’s hard, it’s that sometimes he’s gone for days and weeks on the campaign trail with Senator Leia Organa, running her security and ensuring that none of her wayward son’s fanatic disciples get access to the travel party or her town halls.

 

“Day trip tentatively on the schedule for the end of next week, but no overnights for a while,” he says, turning and kissing her hair when she hums, pleased at the answer. “Like I said, she needs the break.”

 

“So do you.”

 

Poe runs his hand down her arm, tangles his fingers with hers as he settles their joined hands on her stomach, “Leia told me to enjoy it. _And_ take the day tomorrow.”

 

“She did _not_.”

 

His laugher reverberates against the small of her back, “I’ll show you the texts when we get out,” with his other hand, he reaches out of the tub for their mugs, plucks her oversized tea cup and she _knows_ he’s wrinkling his nose at it as he passes it to her. “Here, drink your weird weed water. And which one of your students got the better of you today?”

 

Taking a long, slow sip, she taps the elbow of their joined hands back into the inside of his arm, “They’re not _weeds_ , and no one _got the better of me_ ,” she mutters into her cup. “I slipped on a patch of ice when I was leaving the gym.”

 

A pained noise not unlike the one _she_ made earlier that day when she fell sounds in the back of his throat, “Really Rey?” He makes to shift, but then stops, probably because he doesn’t want to risk hurting her and doesn’t really know how to fret properly with the lack of space and how she’s sitting. “Why didn’t you say something? Do you need to get looked at? Did you call Doctor Kalonia?”

 

She rolls her eyes, turns her head into him and presses her mouth to his throat, “I’m fine,” she murmurs against his skin. “Master Imwe took a look at me.”

 

“ _Master Imwe?_ ” His incredulity echoes into her lower back. “Rey, Chirrut’s _blind_.”

 

With a laugh, Rey takes another sip of her tea before lifting up, ignoring the way he grumbles at her and runs a hand down her back, still looking for more bruises that she doesn’t have, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” she says, turns so she can kiss the corner of his frown. “Baze looked at me.”

 

Poe rolls his eyes, scowls as he goes from searching for bruises to absently trailing his hand up and down her side, “That’s not much better. You really should see Doctor Kalonia.”

 

“If I can’t move in the morning, I’ll give her a call,” she takes another sip of tea, arches a brow as she looks at him over the rim of her mug. “How’s that sound?”

 

It sounds like something he’s not the _most_ pleased with, but it means she might be able to wrangle a back rub out of him before they go to sleep. With a grin, Rey carefully stretches, testing the limits and borders to how she can and can’t move right now as she sets her tea down on the rug, turns all the way around and straddles Poe’s thighs, “Where’s my smile, Flyboy?”

 

His scowl deepens, and she holds back a giggle at the exaggerated look on his face, “Stubborn girls don’t get smiles.”

 

With a smirk, Rey places her wet hand on his cheek, “You sure about that, Flyboy?”

 

“Yes.”

 

But Rey knows better than that, and she lifts up a little out of the water, leans over him and cups his cheeks in her hands, “I think I can get a smile out of you,” she teases as she presses her mouth to his hairline, wiggles a little when he sets his hands low on her hips.

 

Poe just mugs at her, “Definitely not,” he says, clearly challenging.

 

And there’s nothing Rey loves more than a challenge.

 

Well, maybe her stubborn ex-pilot, but it’s basically the same thing.

 

Running her thumb through the curls above his ears, she trails them over strands that are just verging on going gray, and darts in and feathers her lips over his temple and down to the corner of his eye, “What about now?” She murmurs, her hands sliding down from his face to rest on his shoulders, thumbs set on either side of his collarbones. “I think I’m getting closer.”

 

Poe grumbles, but all the same, his thumbs are starting to circle where they’re settled on the slick skin of her hips, “I think you’re not.”

 

With a low chuckle, Rey presses her lips back to that spot next to his eye, and then carefully drops down to his throat. She kisses his neck, open mouthed, and darts her tongue out to swipe against his skin, feels the way he coughs a little in attempt to keep his composure, and then presses her grin into the spot as his hands go tighter on her hips.

 

When her side protests at her, Rey uses the hands on his shoulders to brace against him and lifts back up, dips in and kisses his cheek, down a little toward his jaw, and then back up and over to the arch of his opposite cheek, “Am I getting warmer _now_?”

 

There’s a pause, and Poe has to clear his throat before, “Not even a little.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

He has a small scar over his eyebrow from a time in combat years and years before they met that he doesn’t like to talk about, and Rey runs her lips over it the way he _does_ like, then traces it with the tip of your tongue, “I think I’m getting a little warmer,” she whispers against his skin as his hands go tighter against her hips, slide down further so the tips of his fingers press into the rise of her backside. “You’re very easy to read, Dameron.”

 

“Am not,” he shoots back as Rey runs her fingertips up his neck and to his chin, guiding him to look up. “ _Rey_.”

 

Hushing him, she swipes her mouth over the bridge of his nose, “I’ve got you right where I want you, Flyboy,” she whispers as she kisses him, but only the corner of his mouth, and he whines at her when she pulls away. “Come on, Poe.”

 

But he presses his lips together to keep from smiling, even though, when Rey pulls back a bit, she can see the spark in his eyes and how it’s reflected in the candle light, how much he _wants_ to smile like she wants him to, the stubborn man.

 

Rey cups his cheeks again, drops a bit on her knees so she doesn’t have to arch her back as she tips her forehead to his, “Are you _absolutely sure_ I can’t get you to smile?”

 

The sound he makes in the back of his throat as he tries to stay impassive makes _her_ grin go almost impossibly wide, and she knows she does have him right where she wants him.

 

“ _No_.”

 

With a snort, Rey darts in and presses her mouth to his upper lip once, lightly, and then traces the spot with her tongue, which draws a gasp that he can’t control. Taking advantage, Rey uses the hand still under his chin to tilt him up a bit and finally catches his mouth with hers, lips pressing in softly as she darts her tongue out against the seam of his.

 

Finally, _finally_ , Poe breaks from the game and tugs her in with the hands still tight on her hips, and one slides up the curve in the small of her back as he opens his mouth to her with that groan that means he’s given in. Rey hums against him in triumph as she deepens the kiss, tucks one hand against the back of his neck to lift him closer to her and change the angle a little.

 

Swiping her tongue against his, Rey runs her thumbs against the arches of his cheekbones and nudges her nose against the side of his before she pulls back for half of a breath, her lips still brushing against his mouth as she darts back in again.

 

When she finally pulls away, she’s slow to open her eyes, feels her lashes brush against him as she does and pulls back, settles on his hips as she presses her thumbs into the corners of his mouth, where yeah, she’s finally drawn that smile from him.

 

Pressing her mouth back to it, Rey pushes in and settles her chest against his, wraps her arm around his neck, “Told you I could do it,” she murmurs against his mouth as Poe kisses her quick, and then again. “You know what this means, right?”

 

Poe snorts as he slides his hand higher, wraps it around her neck, “Yeah, yeah,” he kisses her once, quick. “You’ll get your back rub tonight, my girl.”

 

With a grin so wide it almost hurts her cheeks, Rey presses her face into the side of his neck with a happy hum, “You are the _best_ , Poe.”

 

“I know,” he rubs his hand up and down her back. “Love you.”

 

She kisses his throat, runs her fingertips against the chain resting on the other side of his neck until he covers her fingers with his and tangles them together, that unspoken thing growing louder the longer they live side by side, “Love you too,” she murmurs, settling in.

 

Sure, she won that back rub, but that doesn’t mean it has to be _now_.

 

They have time.

 

Outside, the snow continues to fall.

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't know what this is (except for the parts that I do, totally expect more from this AU eventually). If you loved it, let me know!
> 
> Prompt of the chapter from [The Fake Redhead.com](https://thefakeredhead.com/tfrs-prompt-library/)
> 
> Number 194: 
> 
> "That's not funny." 
> 
> "I thought it was." 
> 
> "You don't count. You started laughing in the middle of a funeral because you started thinking of a meme you saw on Facebook."


End file.
